Cathal BarryDr Martin urges full co-operation on Mother and Baby Homes
Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has described as “sickening” the details emerging from Tuam regarding some 796 babies that had been interred in a mass grave there.
Dr Martin urged those responsible for running any of the Mother and Baby homes in Ireland, or any other person having information about mass graves, to give that information to the authorities.
“The Gospel message is that authentic faith is measured by how we treat children who represent Jesus Christ,” he said.
A statement from the Dublin Archdiocese outlined that Archbishop Martin asked the Dublin Diocesan Archivist to compile information in the archive concerning Mother and Baby homes in Dublin several months ago.
“Hundreds of documents have already been collated,” the statement said. However, to date, “no information concerning mass graves has emerged from the Dublin Diocesan archive”.
Archbishop Martin has said he is willing to share this information with any inquiry the government will establish.
He urged the relevant Religious Orders and Government bodies to urgently consider a similar collation of documentation which "could serve to quickly hasten the process of establishing and bringing into public light the whole truth of the Mother and Baby homes".
The archbishop also expressed hope that a full bodied inquiry will be set up, examining all aspects of life in the homes and crucially how adoptions were organised.